relentless weeds

fiddlrs3(NE Illinois)June 22, 2006

I planted a berm several years ago with Sumac on one end, hazelnuts on the other, and in between a lot of little bluestem seed and prairie clover. They sent me Canada rye seeds by mistake, and I've overseeded it with LBS and clover from my other locations on my proprerty as well as several pounds purchased, and tried overseeding fall, winter, and spring ever since. Years later, the rye has given up, the clover is in there( but virtually invisible), but no sign of LBS and its all overgrown with lawngrasses and thistle. I've tried burning, which the Hazelnut barely survived, and hand weeding, but nothing seems to work. Do I have to kill it all and start over?

In my state we have several native stands of Little Blue Stem, this can be found, but is not limited to Serpentine Barrens. These sites are hot, dry, nutrient-poor, rocky and xeric. LBS exists here due to its deep root system and very little competition from other plants. Does the berm that you planted match this description? If not, LBS cannot compete with the likes of the plants you mentioned. Here, we have only two native clovers which are extremely rare. The other clovers are EurAsian in origin and nitrogen forming. American Hazelnut is native to stream banks and floodplains.
Warm season grasses can be used as ornamentals in your situation. Try plugs or containers of Panicum virgatum or Andropogon gerardi if height is not a problem. If the site is dry and poor consider Andropogon virginicus.